Outbursts of Everett True

This two-panel strip follows Everett True, a choleric protagonist who appeared in newspapers from 1905 onward. The gag turns on a vendor's pitch about black eyes: a man selling eggs claims his wares are so fresh they'll give the customer "two black eyes"—a play on the old warning about bumping into doors. True's violent response in the second panel literalizes the joke, delivering the promised result with his fists. The strip's visual economy—exaggerated expressions, dynamic action lines, and efficient lettering—exemplifies the newspaper comic's emergent language. Recurring character strips like this one populated the Sunday and daily pages, establishing conventions of panel sequence and character consistency that would define the medium for decades.